Raman spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique used in condensed matter physics and chemistry to study vibrational, rotational, and other low-frequency modes in molecular systems. In a Raman spectroscopic experiment, an approximately monochromatic beam of light of a particular wavelength range passes through a sample of molecules and a spectrum of scattered light is emitted. The spectrum of wavelengths emitted from the molecule is called a “Raman spectrum” and the emitted light is called “Raman scattered light.” A Raman spectrum can reveal electronic, vibrational, and rotational energies levels of a molecule. Different molecules produce different Raman spectrums that can be used like a fingerprint to identify molecules and even determine the structure of molecules.
The Raman scattered light generated by a compound (or ion) adsorbed on or within a few nanometers of a structured metal surface can be 103-1014 times greater than the Raman scattered light generated by the same compound in solution or in the gas phase. This process of analyzing a compound is called surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (“SERS”). In recent years, SERS has emerged as a routine and powerful tool for investigating molecular structures and characterizing interfacial and thin-film systems, and even enables single-molecule detection. Engineers, physicists, and chemists continue to seek improvements in systems and methods for performing SERS.
However, most SERS systems only enhance the electro-magnetic field at certain hot spots. They have substantial enhancement factors at those hot spots, but most Raman measurements see the integrated effects over certain area. That makes those systems based on hot spots less effective.